Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Soul Food Exhibit

A Soul Food Celebration at the Brooks Museum This Summer

The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art celebrates "50 Years of Soul" with the exhibition Soul Food! African American Cooking and Creativity on view from May 19 through August 19, 2007. Over fifty works ─ including photographs, mixed media installations, paintings, and artifacts ─ illustrate the roots of soul food and the development of African American culinary traditions.

The rich cooking customs associated with the genre of soul music is evident throughout Memphis and the world. The origins of these culinary traditions are made visible in Soul Food!, which was organized by The Amistad Center for Art & Culture at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art. The exhibition includes works by such well-known artists as Carrie Mae Weems and Whitfield Lovell in addition to numerous original photographs and artifacts that help narrate the journey from Africa to the Americas and from African to African American.

Special events scheduled in conjunction with the exhibition include:

Friday, May 18, 7:00 pmTerrace Concert featuring AfrissippiHill country blues of North Mississippi meets traditional Senegalese melodies for a unique and powerful sound. Bonus: a sneak preview of the exhibition Soul Food! African American Cooking and Creativity.

Friday, June 29, 6:30 p.mFood for the Soul: Film Screening and TastingSouthern Foodway Alliance president John T. Edge and University of Mississippi filmmaker Joe York present an exclusive screening of the film Above the Line: Saving Willie Mae's Scotch House. Above the Line tells the story of the destruction and subsequent rebuilding of Willie Mae Seaton's famed Scotch House restaurant during Hurricane Katrina. Following the screening there will be a tasting of soul food provided by local restaurants.